Summary

The speaker examines their surroundings: they’re in a forest in the autumn, sitting beside a lake where fifty-nine swans are gathered. The speaker has been coming to this place for nineteen years. As they watch the swans, the birds suddenly take flight. The speaker’s heart aches at their beauty and at the memories of the years that have passed. The swans are lighthearted and gather together companionably, in the water or in the sky; unlike the speaker, they are still young and carefree at heart. They drift along the lake in silence, yet the speaker believes they will someday leave to discover new places.

Analysis

The poem begins by examining the natural landscape: brightly colored trees, pathways dry from the heat of summer. It is just after sunset, and there is no wind to stir the lake by which the speaker sits...